John L. Culhane, Jr.

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President Trump on Tuesday fired the remaining two Democratic members of the FTC, leaving only two Republicans on the commission.

The commissioners, Alvaro Bedoy and Rebecca Slaughter, announced their dismissals on social media. Both called their dismissals illegal, since the FTC is supposed to be an independent agency. Both of them called their firings illegal and Bedoy already has said he would challenge his dismissal in court.… Continue Reading

As the Trump Administration attempts to drastically cut CFPB funding and staffing, New York regulators and legislators are attempting to fill what could be a void in consumer protection efforts.

 “We’re hiring,” Adrienne A. Harris, the state’s Superintendent of the Department of Financial Services, said during a presentation on March 12 at the Brookings Institution.… Continue Reading

Saying that its proposed brokered deposits rule would have “significantly disrupted many aspects of the deposit landscape,” the FDIC has withdrawn the proposal. 

The agency said that it no longer intends to issue a brokered deposits rule.

The FDIC proposed the rule last year, when Democrats controlled the agency. The proposal would have subjected brokered deposits to heightened regulation; it also would have expanded the definition of brokered deposits, including by eliminating certain exceptions to the rule.… Continue Reading

In the latest edition of its Consumer Compliance Outlook, the Federal Reserve (Fed) identified the four most significant fair lending violations that it found in examining state member banks in 2022. These are violations that were typically identified in examinations as matters requiring attention or as matters requiring immediate attention.

Fair Lending Risk Assessment.… Continue Reading

In a significant ruling on February 18, 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals determined that the National Bank Act (NBA) does not preempt the procedural “right to cure” notice requirements mandated by the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA), reversing a judgment in two debt collection actions.

The court, thereby, determined that this state-level consumer protection was not preempted by the NBA.… Continue Reading

Oregon may become the latest state attempting to stop out-of-state banks from “exporting” home-state interest rates on loans made to Oregon consumers. Like similar legislation adopted by Colorado in 2023, House Bill 2561 explicitly provides that the state does not want certain provisions of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA) to apply to loans made in Oregon.… Continue Reading

Chief Judge Virginia Kendall of the Northern District of Illinois has extended her preliminary injunction prohibiting Illinois from enforcing the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (the “IFPA”) to cover out-of-state banks conducting business in the state.

Judge Kendall already had ruled that Illinois could not enforce the IFPA on nationally chartered banks and federal savings associations but requested additional briefing with respect to federal credit unions and out-of-state banks.… Continue Reading

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. have introduced bipartisan legislation that could cap credit card interest rates at 10%.

The Senators said their bill, S. 381, would fulfill a commitment made by President Trump when he campaigned for president last year. The legislation—which has been proposed in past Congresses—would impose the cap through a change in the Truth in Lending Act.… Continue Reading

Seventeen financial services trade groups are calling on the CFPB to abandon its plan to amend rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to vastly expand the scope of the FCRA by redefining what a “consumer report” is and who is a “consumer reporting agency.” As previously reported, while the CFPB touts the proposal as one to cover data brokers, it is much broader than that.… Continue Reading